Since the day he was hired as Nevada's baseball coach, T.J. Bruce has said his program would be built on pitching and defense.

So what won the Wolf Pack the Mountain West’s regular-season title this season? Offense, of course.

The Wolf Pack’s pitching has been solid and its defense capable enough, but the biggest reason Nevada carries the No. 1 seed into this week’s MW Tournament in San Diego is because of the team’s bludgeoning bats.

Among 297 D-I teams, Nevada ranks 20th nationally in batting average and 29th in slugging percentage. It has posted at least 12 runs in five of its last eight MW games, a stretch in which it has averaged a shade under 10 runs a night. If those bats remain hot, Nevada will move on to an NCAA Regional for the first time since 2000.

“Contagious hitting is huge for a team," outfielder Cole Krzmarzick said, "and I think that’s what we’ve been doing."

The offensive production has been a massive turnaround from last season when Nevada averaged just 4.8 runs per game. That figure has bumped up to 6.7 per game this year, although the Wolf Pack has been far more lethal within the conference. In MW games, Nevada leads the conference in batting average (.338) and runs scored (8.4 per game).

None of the other three teams in the MW Tournament – No. 2 seed San Diego State, No. 3 San Jose State and No. 4 UNLV, which Nevada opens the tournament against Thursday – has been nearly as productive offensively than Nevada in conference play. Among those teams, UNLV and SDSU are tied for second behind the Wolf Pack in runs per MW contest at 6.6, nearly two full runs behind Nevada.

“The biggest thing is confidence,” said Jake Silverman, Nevada’s assistant coach and de facto hitting coach. “Last year, a lot of guys were trying to do it themselves. Now, we’re a little more balanced from one through nine, so guys don’t feel like they have to do it themselves. They have trust in their teammates. That breeds confidence that the next guy will do it instead of one guy having to do it.”

In MW play, the Wolf Pack has six batters hitting at least .367, with freshman Josh Zamora (.427) and senior Grant Fennell (.405) both over .400, which ranks first and third among in the conference. Zamora’s productivity as a first-year player has provided a big boost to the lineup.

“I had a hunch he was going to do what we did,” said outfielder Weston Hatten, who is hitting .253 with four homers. “I told a couple of guys on the team. But what he’s doing as a freshman is amazing.”

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Nevada carries the No. 1 seed into this week's Mountain West Tournament in San Diego. The winner gets an automatic berth into an NCAA Regional.
Chris Murray, Reno Gazette-Journal

The foundation of the Wolf Pack’s starting lineup is loaded with veterans. Fennell, Krzmarzick and Mike Echavia are all seniors. Each is among Nevada’s top four hitters in terms of batting average. They’ve combined to hit .358 with 54 extra-base hits, 118 runs and 115 RBIs. Fennell and Krzmarzick were both freshmen on the 2015 team that won 41 games and averaged eight runs per game, the fourth most in the nation. While this team doesn’t have quite as much power, they said the offensive potential is similar.

“We hit a lot of home runs my freshman year,” said Krzmarzick, who is batting .350 this season. “Maybe we don’t have the long ball as much, but we just have good at-bats and hitting the ball hard is a good deal for us. Being able to win games with our offensive side, that reminds me a lot of that freshman year team.”

Unlike last season, the Wolf Pack has been able to rally out of some major holes for victories thanks to that offense, most notably digging out of a 9-1 deficit to beat Fresno State, 12-11, earlier this month.

“At any point in the game, I know we’re going to come back or have a chance to come back,” Fennell said. “This team doesn’t give up. With the big boppers, it’s never over, especially here at elevation.”

The Wolf Pack won’t be playing at elevation this week. The MW Tournament will be held at SDSU’s Tony Gwynn Stadium, a shift from last year’s model where the winner of the regular season – New Mexico – hosted the conference tournament. SDSU’s ballpark, which sits near sea level, will neutralize some of the offensive fireworks considering most of the MW cities, including Reno, sit around a mile high.

The Wolf Pack has been far more productive in the MW than in non-conference games. It has averaged 8.4 runs per conference game to just 4.5 per non-conference game. The players said they are a little more focused during conference action given their importance, with Bruce adding his team’s mindset has played a role in its overall offensive production.

“We led the conference in a lot of stuff offensively and one of them was a testament to these guys, and it was sac flies,” Bruce said. “I know that’s a weird stat, but that’s team offense. We want to play team offense. That’s what we pride ourselves on. Another stat we led in was hit by pitches. Those are big deals because they create opportunities. Our guys did a really nice job. We’ve got some older guys, which obviously helps. What we say here is ‘pass the baton.’ That’s a big deal for us to pass the baton.”

Silverman said the Wolf Pack players have been more vocal during games, sharing information with one another so they are prepared when they get to the plate. That wasn’t always the case last season when the younger players were a bit bashful and the older players felt like they had to provide the offense on their own. That increased camaraderie was fingered as a reason behind all those runs.

“There’s not a lot of guys who are stat lookers,” Zamora said of his teammates. “It’s more, ‘We won. That’s good.’”

Columnist Chris Murray provides insight on Northern Nevada sports. Contact him at cmurray@rgj.com or follow him on Twitter @MurrayRGJ.